The Graveyard Shift Tour 03/15/2018

As the Graveyard Shift Tour passed through Lincoln, Nebraska, the Bourbon Theater was anything but dead on a chilly March evening. The heaviest tour currently crossing The U.S. and Canada was exactly what we needed to remind us that rock is not dead.
Ohio natives Like Moths to Flames would be replacing Chelsea Grin, who’d dropped off the tour. Focusing on their most recent release, 2017’s Dark Divine, the metalcore rockers set the standard for the evening. More than a few fans were familiar with the band’s music though, and helped the those unfamiliar find their thrashing groove during the band’s set.
Boston based Ice Nine Kills are no stranger to Nebraska. Tonight would be their 8th time playing the Fly-Over-State since 2012, but their first time in Lincoln. INK’s horror-inspired lyrics, and unique style of symphonic metal were more than welcomed by the crowd. Vocalist and founder Spencer Charnas paced the stage like a caged lion and incited moments of tumult within the crowd through the casual menace of his voice. The lyrical content of the band’s music revolves around Charnas’ continuing fascination with the horror genre, and the band’s music fits perfectly.
While this would be my first time seeing the band live, and everyone’s excitement for them already had my expectations higher than normal. It’s great to see a band for the first time and regret not having seen them before. Though it might have been my first time seeing Ice Nine Kills live on stage, I highly doubt it will be the last.
Every Time I Die’s time on stage was more like a co-headlining set. The band’s 13 song set, full of fan favorites, highlighted cuts from seven of the 8 albums, minus their debut release. For nearly 45 minutes, the heavy metal thrashers shook the crowd. With focus on their most recent release, 2016’s Low Teens, ETID pushed through an incredible 13 track set. I had not seen the band for several years, but their energy was every bit as infectious as it was all those years ago.
As amazing as each of the others bands are, their live sets were only a taste of what was yet to come. While many of the crowd had seen a Motionless In White concert before, very few had seen a headlining set from the band. Tonight’s show was almost sold out, but felt more like an intimate show.
As the house lights dimmed, fog rolled across the stage and the eerie intro to Rats heralded the return of the band to Nebraska. Drummer Vinny Mauro was the first on stage. Guitarists Ricky Horror and Ryan Sitkowski were next to join us, followed by bassist Devin “Ghost” Sola. Sola’s persona on this tour was that of Bioshock’s Sander Cohen; Bunny mask, blood stained suite and drawn on curled mustache. As deafening as the crowd was for the introduction of the band, Chris Motionless’ entrance almost blew the roof off. Now that the entire band was on stage, the fun could begin.
Rats melted into Reincarnate, then shifted into Necessary Evil, pummeling the crowd even further into submission. As heavy as Rats and Reincarnate are, it was Necessary Evil that really set the bar for tonight’s show. Even without Jonathan Davis of Korn’s vocals, Necessary Evil was an incredibly sinister song.
Soft and Loud (Fuck It) followed and had the crowd bouncing. Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas joined the band for Abigail and the pits opened. The moshing and crowd surfing continued for 570 and the sing-along to A-M-E-R-I-C-A, and culminated for Untouchable. The intensity of tonight’s show was far from over though.
The theatrics of this tour were more toned down for tonight’s show than previous dates of the tour, presumably because of the size of the venue’s stage. No one seemed to mind though. This gave the band the opportunity to focus even deeper of their music.
Dead as Fuck was seamlessly woven into Not My Type: Dead as Fuck 2, that unyielding intensity magnified for the headbanging worthy Immaculate Misconception. The band’s 15 song set focused heavily on their latest release, 2017’s Graveyard Shift, and highlighted several fan favorites. While the core setlist for this tour remained unchanged, tonight’s set would be one of only a handful to include Loud (Fuck It), and Contemptress, and only one of three tour stops to include Untouchable.
It was an exceptional treat to hear Contremptress, even without the vocals of In This Moment’s Maria Brink.
Nearing the end of their set, Devil’s Night was the perfect choice to give us one more chance to really cut loose before closing with the fan dedicated Eternally Yours.
For over an hour Motionless In White reminded a few thousand fans why they are one of the most popular heavy metal bands currently touring. As brutal as these tracks are in their studio forms, they are unbelievable to hear played live. The thunderous bass, Motionless’ guttural growls, the way Horror and Sitkowski play off of each other and work in unison to craft their immense sound. These tracks were meant to be heard live. Motionless In White are meant to be experienced live, thrashing around the stage.